


The Nightmare Cave

by StunningOliveQueen



Category: Original Work
Genre: Concussions, Hospitals, Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-02-11
Packaged: 2018-09-23 11:01:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9653129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StunningOliveQueen/pseuds/StunningOliveQueen
Summary: Juniper and Willa are searching through cave tunnels when there is a land slide and Willa gets hurt.





	

1 second. My heart pounds.

2 seconds. I stumble forward.

3 seconds. The sounds of rocks falling behind me.

4 seconds. Pain.

5 seconds. Darkness.

My eye are closed, and I hear only ringing and then the soft drip, drop of water. I open my eyes, squinting as clouds of dirt and dust rise around me like a fog. The sting of dirt reaches my eyes, causing them to close, and I feel a tear fall down my dirt-covered cheek, leaving a path like blended watercolor paint. Blinking my eyes once again, I glance around searching for something, anything to help me understand what has happened, and I see clouds of dirt and dust settling onto the surface of the cavern around me. Fumbling my hands against the rock covered walls; I grasp a small ledge, which I use to pull myself upward, as I scan my surrounding for help to calm my raging mind. With a shaking hand I touch my head as I feel a slight stream of liquid sliding down my forehead, onto my cheek. I inspect my forehead; my fingers brush softly against the liquid pooling on my brow.

The sudden, sharpness of immense pain radiates through me, and I close my eyes hastily as I gasp, trying to recompose my shaking body and mind. Gulping, panting, I drag my agitated fingers away, and I peek at the red substance that covers my hand. Blood. The crimson liquid stains my fingers, and a sudden confusion overtakes my mind, filling my ears with the roaring seas.

“What happened?” I mumble to myself, disoriented.

Sudden flashes of memories make me jolt, as I remember that we were exploring the cave tunnels, searching for the unknown. I was with someone. But who?

“Willa!” I gasp startled from the sudden revelation.

I remember rocks sliding; we were running, trying to avoid the falling projectiles. I stumble forward, my legs refusing to cooperate.

“Willa!” I gasp out once more as I sink to the ground. Giving up on my useless legs, I begin to crawl forward, searching for my best friend. Tilting my eyes around my surroundings, I see the dark waves of my friend’s hair. Grasping the edge of the sharp rocks with fierce determination, I haul myself up, cringing as the earth bites my hands, causing beads of blood to trickle down my palms, then my fingers dripping, splashing onto the cold hard surface of the ground. I stumble forward. I reach my friend in a matter of seconds that feel like an eternity; I drag my dead weight towards her dropping like a rock when I finally reach her. This shouldn't have happened to us, we were only trying to have fun. Now, these events will change us and leave us scarred forever.

I turn Willa’s body upwards; her eyes are wide open, she is gasping for a breath, a shaky hand makes it's way towards mine, grabbing it with a surprising amount of force.

“Hey” she says in a shaky voice

“Are you hurt anywhere?” I stutter out worriedly. I grip her hand tighter, desperate for some comfort.

“My leg.” she responds eyes gleaming with pain. “It really hurts.”

“How are we going to get out of here?” I ask as I look down at Willa, tears gleaming in my eyes, fear tight in my chest

“Juniper,” she says carefully. The cold hand of realization grabs me, as I think there was no way I can do what needs to be done.

“NO!” I yelled startling the both of us. “No.” I whisper again calmly. “I can't do it,” I say plainly. “I'm not brave enough. The only reason I even came down to these cave tunnels was because you are brave. YOU! Not ME. I am too scared. So I'm sorry but I can't drag you along in the dark cave, trying to find a way out. I just can't do it.” I whisper loudly.

“Juniper, you have to do it. You have to help me up and try to find a way out.”

“No,” I state stubbornly.

“Juniper,” she says once more getting frustrated. “You’re going to help me, and WE are going to find a way out.” Willa declares with certitude. “We are going to do this together, but you have to be strong, you have to be brave, you can’t give up.”

Glaring at the ground, I grumble my acquiescence. Bending down so my short hair, now covered in dirt and dust, almost touches the ground, I snake my hands underneath Willa’s back, and with as much force as I possess I help her into a sitting position. I asked if she can stand and she responded with a decisive no. After a few seconds, I pleaded again.

“Well, you have to. I can't do this alone.” “Ok,” she responds but with no confidence in her voice, just pain and desperation. Slowly I push myself upward using the sides of the cave, begging them to help me up. Finally after a minute, I stand on my wobbly legs, gasping as black spots dance into my vision; I shake my head, making the darkness swim away. I look down at Willa and see that her eyes are dilated from a possible concussion. I gently pull up my injured friend, looking into her eyes, which are laced with tears of determination. I give her a weak grin, and I turn my head and observe two different tunnels. Which way? Picking quickly, I decide to go right. Reaching into the pocket of my pants, my fingers find the cold, hard metal of the flashlight, and gripping it firmly I pull it out. I take a step towards the right tunnel. “Let's do this,” I state with fake positivity.

Seconds, minutes, possibly hours tick by, as we stumble through the rock tunnels trying to avoid any further damage. My eyes drill into the ground, watching as my feet stumble slightly. Step by step we walk on. I notice how Willa stays silent instead of her usual jabbering. The quiet darkness causes the hair to stand up on my arms.

“Juniper,” Willa warns, breaking the silence. Startled, I jerk my head up to see in the darkness before us, another wall blocking our passage – the third so far. We have to go back again, and find another way out in this labyrinth. I have had enough. In frustration and without thinking, I let go of Willa letting her fall as she tries to get ahold of something for support. I stalk over to the barrier that is keeping us from home and give it a solid kick. Pain flares through me. I attack the barrier with another kick, and another, and another. My foot goes numb from the pain that incessantly spreads through me. I attack with all the force I have, pounding on the barricade.

“NO, NO, NO!” I cry in despair. My shoulders begin to shake as I continue to bang the surface with my now numb foot; my painful jabs begin to weaken. A sob makes it way from deep inside me.

“Juniper?” Willa asks in a calming whisper. “I am sure there is another way out” she assures me.

“How?” I sob out cupping my face in my hands desperately. A light flow of red blood soaks through my dirt tattered shoe. Willa says something, jolting me out of my melancholy state.

Confused, I look at her. “I just said that you are not to give up hope, you will be brave and help us get out of here, ok?” She declares with a confidence that I don’t feel. She begins to limp over, reaching me surprisingly fast, and stretches out her hand lacing it through my fingers with a firm grip and yanks me up with power, the power of many knights. With a newfound sanguine, I hold her hand and begin pulling her along as we stumble back the way we came.

* * *

 

Time goes, on ticking by the seconds. I try to ignore the pain in my battered foot, until Willa halts, making me stumble into her. I look up, my gaze landing on a small opening. A small grin of hope spreads its way onto my face. We might finally be free. However, the smile begins to fade, as we get closer, replaced by a cloud of fear that envelops me. Before us is a cliff, more than 20 feet high, full of jagged edges, screaming **STAY AWAY**.

“Oh God!” I mumble in despair. Willa pulls me closer to the death drop.

“You go rock climbing with your dad all the time. You can do this.” she says with trusting eyes.

“Yeah, but we always had harnesses and safeties, and every precaution to make sure no one feel and got hurt. Here, one slip and I could fall to my death.” I reply stubbornly.

“I know, but we have hit dead end after dead end, this might be the ONLY way out,” she tells me boldly. “I know this is hard for you, but you HAVE to do this.” I grip her hand tightly and begin to take small steps towards the edge of the nightmarish cliff. I walk right up the edge, my toes dangling over as I stare down the dark abyss. I might die right now. Hope, I realize is the one thing that has to get me through this. Taking a breath, I lower myself down, turning my body so I’m facing Willa. I lower my uninjured foot to what is hopefully a sturdy rock; I then place my other foot onto a rock, and move my hands to grip a bolder. Taking another gulp of air, I continue my descent downward into the dark unknown. I focus on my trembling hands, which are covered in dirt and dried blood, leaving behind tiny droplets of red stain on the rocks I am gripping. As I look back up I realize I have only made it a few feet. I begin to climb faster, ignoring the warning bells going off in my head, but then my foot catches on a loose rock, sending it tumbling and leaving my foot dangling loosely. I slip further. A tight knot of fear forms in my chest as I desperately try to find someplace to put my foot. This only makes it worse, causing my other foot to slip until I am only gripping the rocks with my hands. I notice the stinging pain in my palms; I also notice how I am perspiring causing sweat to drip into my eyes. I toil more, but it's no use. No matter how hard I work I can't get my feet to land on something solid.

“Oh God,” I whisper. I am going to die. This is the end. One hand drops to my side, leaving a single weak hand hooked onto a rock. I close my eyes, waiting for the end as my hand slips more and more.

Suddenly I am falling.

Falling.

Falling.

I stop. Something strong and sturdy grips my hand. Slowly I open my eyes, as I realize Willa is gripping my hand with all her might. All I can do is sob in relief. I'm not going to die. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not.

“Don't let go,” I sob out. Grunting, she slowly pulls me up. My other hand grabs onto a rock trying to help my friend pull me up and away from death. Once at the top, I engulf her in a tight hug, squeezing the life out of her. I’m ok. I am ok. I am alive. Her arms wrap tightly around me. She holds me and scoots away from the edge. A safe distance away from the cliff she holds me tighter and whispers soothing words.

“I've got you. You're ok,” she whispers into my ear, holding me tight and combing her fingers through my knotted, dirt-covered blond hair. We stay in this position for what feels like an eternity, her comforting me, and me trying to reassure myself that I am ok. She pulls away after a while and looks into my ocean eyes. “Come on,” she says standing up, griping my hand and pulling up. We turn away from the nightmare and begin to walk back towards to tunnels, wondering what awaits us.

* * *

 

Walking through the tunnels once more, with the light of the flashlight flickering every few seconds, I can't help but feel like this is all not real. This cave, this journey is a vast nightmare that I will wake up from. I’ll open my eyes and be lying in my own comfortable bed. Sheets wrapped around my body in a tight comforting cocoon. But sadly this is all real. The pain. The fear. The despair. My eyes flicker over to Willa. Her face is a ghost of its usual self, scrunched slightly in pain. My eyes make their way down to her left leg, which is now slightly more swollen. A nudge from her shoulder averts me from my thoughts. She points ahead soundlessly. A small shimmer of light makes its way into the darkened cave, bringing a small grin to my face. I begin to walk faster pulling Willa along to what is hopefully the way out, away from this torture. When we finally make it to the opening, I have to squint as the bright light burns my sensitive eyes. Sunlight shimmers in, but there is one big problem standing in the way of freedom - a deep pool of water that starts narrow but slowly broadens, as it gets closer to the opening.

The water is stagnant, still, not moving. I know without Willa saying anything that I am going to have to swim through the pool of water before me. Swim to freedom. Swim to safety. I barely hear Willa speak; the only thing that makes its way through my panicked mind, quivering with worry is my own dread. Her voice reflects off of me with no impact as the oxygen leaves my lungs and my chest tightens with the overwhelming feeling of fear. But then, the fear slowly flows out of me, replaced by utter determination. I can to this. I let go of Willa’s hand for a moment, dropping the flashlight to the now sodden mud as I prepare to enter the water.

But then, without warning her eyes roll back into her head, and she collapses into the mud. Water licks at her now still body. My eyes widen in fear, my mouth opens to release a silent scream. Once I'm out of my state of shock I bend over and pull her body to mine, holding her by the waist and gradually make my way into the deepening water. At first the water only laps at my ankles, making it uncomfortably ticklish. Then slowly the liquid begins to rise. First reaching my knees, then waist, then chest and finally neck. The murky water attaches itself to my clothes, pulling at me. My soggy sneakers soon lift off from the mud and I’m swimming slowly and with great difficulty. Kick, push I repeat to myself. My throbbing and aching legs kick in the water and my one arm that is not holding Willa moves in breathless strokes pulling me closer and closer to the other side. Kick. Push. Kick. Push.

The dark chocolate colored liquid licks at my face, stinging my eyes, and leaving a stale metallic taste in my mouth. Closer and closer I get - 40 feet, then 30, then 20 and soon 15. The closer I get, the weaker I am, soon my arms and legs moving sluggishly. The water is now at my chin, and with despair I realize I'm sinking. With great force and effort I turn to float on my back with my head tilted towards the opening. Willa, once lightweight now pulls me down, though her ragged breathing drives me on. “5 more feet,” I repeat over and over in my head. Exhausted, I feel my whole body sinking into the dark nothingness. Using every bit of strength I have inside me, I lift my head above the water to peer what is around me and I see an edge only a few inches away. I veer off in that direction; lifting my free arm, I grasp the edge and pull myself weakly forward. I lift Willa onto the solid ground, and then with my last remaining strength, I pull myself onto the warm, hard surface, laughing in relief.

The sun shines down on us, smiling brightly. The sky, a deep blue, welcomes us to the open world.

“ We made” I retch, the dark dirty water, sputtering out of my mouth. Shutting my eyes for a moment of silent happiness as I realize that we are outside of that nightmarish cave. We are free. Free. FREE! The auspicious moment is ruined when I realize we still need to get home. I look around, searching for some sort of civilization. Not far away I see our town. Bending over, I pull one of Willa’s arms over my shoulder and put my arm around her waist. The next hour is a blur, but as I walk home I realize I did something I could never have done before in my preceding life. I was brave. I had hope. I make my way towards home with my last ounce of strength. When I finally make it to the town, I can barely stand on my own two feet. People begin to swarm around us, and then blissful blackness begins to swim in my vision. Soon I close my eyes, and the only company I have is darkness.

* * *

 

When I next open my eyes and try to sit up disoriented, there is a flurry of activity around me. A woman is yelling at others, as she pushes me down and tells me to relax. But where is Willa? I begin to struggle against the unfamiliar woman, knowing I must help Willa. There is too much noise, too many people. I have to get to Willa; I struggle more, kicking and flailing

“I need some help over here!” The women holding me down yells. A man walks over with a needle; I begin to struggle even more. Needles are bad. I have to help Willa. What is that loud noise? There are too many people. HELP! After the man injects the substance into my arm, calmness begins to seep its way through me. Soon I stop struggling and just lay there awaiting darkness. Seconds tick by as darkness envelops me once more.

* * *

 

The sound of screaming voices awakens me. Carefully opening my eyes, I see people all around me once more. They are asking for my name, but I don't understand what's going on. All I know is than have to find Willa. I begin to struggle sluggishly, and then I start to struggle more. Where am I? Someone tells me to stop fighting, that I’m ok. But I know I’m not.

“She needs to be rushed right to surgery,” A person squawks over the chaos of people moving around me. Everything is white. Where am I? Where's Willa? Did we make it out? Why am I here? Who are all these people? Soon enough I'm back under with my friend darkness.

* * *

 

The incessant sound of the steady beeping is what awakens me. A machine is causing the obscure noise. Tilting my head so I can look around the room, I lift my hands so they brush against something soft on my head. A bandage? A hospital? We made it out! A ghost of a smile reaches my face. “Hey you’re finally awake!” The sound of Willa’s voice alerts me. I snap my head towards the sound, and see Willa is sitting closely to my bed. She's in a wheelchair, her leg wrapped snuggly in a cast. Her face is completely clean, back to it’s nice clear complexion. Her kind, hazel eyes stare into my blue ones. With a content voice, she states the obvious, that she is ok. With a joking voice, she teases me about my struggle with the doctors.

“We should probably tell people to close off the tunnels.” I say with a smile. “Yeah probably, but for right now, let’s relax. We made it home because of you. We're home now.”

“Home,” I repeat the word. We finally made it home. We did it.

I did it. 


End file.
